Like Father, Like Son ✔

Chapter 39 - About Time

CHAPTER 39

NICK

Luke was back dancing with his new friends, in close enough proximity so that Nick could still hear them laughing and talking over the blaring music. He was sitting alone at his and Cat's table now, or at least he was for a little while.

"Is this seat taken?" asked a man that Nick was pretty certain he'd never met before. He sounded a little drunk, and the way he practically fell into Cat's seat told Nick he probably wasn't wrong in assuming as much.

"Go ahead," Nick smiled.

"I'm Bill. I'm Cat's Great Uncle... her grandma's brother," he introduced himself, placing his drink down on the table so that some of it spilled a little on the side.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Nick replied, struggling to keep a straight face and instead offering his hand for a handshake. "I'm Nick... Cat's boyfriend," he added awkwardly. It wasn't like him to feel like this, but he supposed it was payback for last Easter when he shoved Cat at his family for the first time with very little warning beforehand.

"I figured," Bill said gruffly, taking Nick's hand and giving it a firm shake. "Nice wedding, isn't it? Good turnout, real good whiskey," he grinned.

"Yeah," Nick chuckled.

"So, when are you planning to ask her?" Bill went on shamelessly, taking a huge swig of his drink.

"I'm sorry?" Nick choked on his own drink.

"You're gonna have to ask her. You should see that girl looks at you," Bill said with a knowing grin, his eyes wandering to the cane on the table between them before going back to Nick's face.

"Oh... well... we've only been dating since last March," Nick said sheepishly, not even sure what was even going on. This was the first time he was ever approached by a drunken stranger at a wedding so that he could be given relationship advice.

"You think it makes a lick of difference how long it's been?" Bill asked, giving Nick a friendly nudge. "Son, do you think you'll feel any differently about her in a year than you do now?" he asked, again with that knowing look in his eye. Nick couldn't exactly see it, but he could hear it in the man's voice, along with all of the liquor talking.

"I don't know," Nick admitted, still unable to stop himself from grinning. "I mean, if anything, I'll probably only love her more... But it's more complicated than that, there are some things going on... it's just not a good time," he shrugged, unsure exactly what prompted him to open up to this man... but hell, he probably wouldn't remember a thing in the morning.

"You need to stop thinking about time, son... there'll never be a right time, or a wrong time, or enough time... There'll always be something..." he trailed off, suddenly sounding a lot more sober now. "You know, I lost my wife last year... cancer... It's a real son of a bitch, let me tell you... the worst kind of feeling, watching the woman you love waste away in front of you... knowing there's nothing you can do about it."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Nick frowned.

"We were married forty-nine years," Bill murmured.

"That's impressive," Nick smiled.

"She made it so easy... God, she was beautiful," Bill sighed wistfully.

"Did you have any kids?" Nick asked, leaning forward slightly in his seat so that he could hear the man over the blaring music, which had suddenly turned to a very fast-paced pop song with a lot of bass.